ShotSpotter in Raleigh? Police chief says gunshot detection program is possible
The possibility of a controversial gunshot detection program coming to Raleigh may be more likely than before, Raleigh Police Chief Estella Patterson suggested recently.
ShotSpotter, the surveillance technology that some cities around the United States have used in hopes of curbing gun violence, would require city funding approved by the Raleigh City Council.
At a first-quarter crime update last week, the chief appeared to shift from a previous stance regarding the program.
“I’d like to always take a proactive approach to crime-fighting and whatever that entails,” Patterson said. “We’ve had conversations abut violence interrupters, we’ve had conversations about ShotSpotter and other technology. So, I’m open to it.”
At a news conference in January, The News & Observer asked Patterson if the Raleigh Police Department wanted to try ShotSpotter, as Durham is doing now.
Patterson responded then that she preferred to stay focused on preventative measures against gun violence.
Patterson took just three questions Thursday from reporters after her crime update. She declined to provide further details on her budget request to the Raleigh city manager except to say the department “was looking at salaries.”
There are currently around 100 vacancies in the Raleigh Police Department, a number that fluctuates with hiring.
City Manager Marchel Adams-David will present her recommended spending plan to the City Council on Tuesday.
Police did not respond to questions from The N&O on Friday.
Last year, the Raleigh City Council approved spending $2 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds on a gun violence prevention program similar to the Cure Violence model used across the country. The model treats violence like a disease and tries to reduce it by changing behavior.
Patterson has said the program, which will involve the city, county and other organizations, is being worked out and could launch later this year.
Raleigh gun violence stats
Patterson noted at Thursday’s crime update that 42% of aggravated assaults in the first three months of 2023 involved firearms and that removing guns from dangerous offenders is a priority for the Police Department.
“When nearly half of all aggravated assaults involve a firearm that’s something that should concern all of us,” she said.
There were 282 reported aggravated assaults in the first quarter of 2023, a 4% increase from the first quarter of last year.
Firearms were used in 118 of them, compared to 120 last year.
ShotSpotter program in Durham
ShotSpotter was launched in Durham last December with the hope that its detection of possible gunfire could help police reach the scenes of shootings more quickly.
The City Council agreed to try the program by 5-2 vote last September after years of debate. The first three months are free to the city, after which Durham will pay $197,500 to continue the program through the rest of the year.
The two dissenting City Council members, Javiera Caballero and Jillian Johnson, expressed concern it could lead to excessive policing and questioned its effectiveness.
In Durham, the program set up sensors in a designated part of east and southeast Durham where the city says a third of all gunshots are reported.
When the sensors are triggered by the sound of possible gunfire, an audio recording is reviewed by ShotSpotter’s “Incident Review Center,” where a person listens to confirm gunfire or explosions.
ShotSpotter then alerts 911 dispatchers and police. The company previously told The N&O that it typically deploys 15 to 25 sensors per square mile.
The ShotSpotter dashboard on the city’s website logs incidents, shell casings recovered, arrests and other data and shows nearly three-quarters of the incidents that ShotSpotter alerts are not associated with a resident’s 911 call.
The program’s launch drew controversy, however, after its sensors did not detect a drive-by shooting on New Year’s Day that injured five people, The N&O reported previously.
The sensors also failed to detect two fatal shootings in February.
